Chapter 121
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Lesson 25. Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder - 2
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Alex de Cantone and Ryu Cheol-myeong.
The two men had maintained a fairly good relationship up until now, sharing the elitist mindset unique to those from higher dimensions.
But this time, due to an unexpected incident, a small crack had formed in their relationship.
"Professor Ryu Cheol-myeong, I trusted you... What were you thinking, giving those guys even more influence?"
"So, you're blaming me now?"
Ryu Cheol-myeong's tone was endlessly irritable as he snapped back at Cantone.
How was Ryu Cheol-myeong supposed to know that Ban Yu-won would master aura?
Those from lower dimensions were inferior, and even if they seemed somewhat talented at first, their true nature as vermin would eventually reveal itself, leading to their inevitable downfall.
He had lived for hundreds of years with that belief at his core, only to face backlash while trying to prove it.
'Someday soon, that punk will crash and burn. Those born lowly have clear limits to their ascension. But until then, he'll fool people for a while. And of all the bad luck, I got caught up in it... Damn it!'
Moreover, because of this incident, rumors had spread throughout the academy about what he'd been doing to his students, so not only Yumina but other professors were starting to look at him with disdain.
Ironically, it was only because Ban Yu-won had achieved results that Ryu Cheol-myeong wasn't being reprimanded immediately. From now on, he'd have to be cautious even during lectures.
"Blame? No... Let's just pretend our little chat never happened."
Ryu Cheol-myeong scoffed at Cantone's words.
"What, planning to cut off your own tail? Worried this might blow up?"
"That's not it. Forget our conversation. From now on, Professor Ryu doesn't need to bother with that punk."
A vile smile crept onto Cantone's lips.
"You overcomplicated it, and that was your downfall. Vermin that crawl up without knowing their place sometimes need to be crushed without mercy."
"Crushed? How? Planning to sic a student on him for a duel? Yumina won't sit still for that."
"You don't need to worry about that. Just forget it. From this moment, our conversation never happened."
Ryu Cheol-myeong sensed something deeply ominous in Cantone's voice.
His instincts told him not to dig deeper, so he took a step back.
"If you say forget, I'll forget. ...But don't forget the Chancellor isn't someone to take lightly."
"Of course, I'm well aware. Otherwise, we wouldn't be out here setting up a barrier just to talk."
The barrier created by Cantone's psychokinesis was so sturdy that even Ryu Cheol-myeong's aura couldn't easily break it, renowned for blocking any concept Cantone willed it to block.
Conversely, anything he allowed passed freely, making it incredibly useful in situations requiring distinction between friend and foe.
This meant the Chancellor was now an enemy to him.
"Ah... I see."
Ryu Cheol-myeong, who had sensed the ominous aura from Cantone and planned to distance himself, suddenly stopped and spoke.
"I don't know what you plan to do, but I'd prefer if those two women don't die."
"Hm?"
"If that's difficult, then... at least the white-haired one. It'd be perfect if you wrapped her up nicely for me to take. I'm prepared to pay the price."
"Ha, hahaha."
Cantone burst into laughter upon realizing what Ryu Cheol-myeong meant.
Ryu Cheol-myeong waited calmly for a response without getting angry.
Of course, the answer was affirmative.
"Fine, let's do that. I'm quite looking forward to whatever price Professor Ryu brings."
"Good. And we'll both forget this conversation too. Then, I look forward to seeing your noble face again someday."
"Likewise."
Despite baring their ugly true selves and exchanging base words, the two parted with pretentious noble bows, feigning dignity.
For them, honor and grace were exactly that—discarded when inconvenient, donned only when needed.
On the Friday of the 8th week, the Rebellion party shifted to Room 31 and cleared several rooms without much trouble.
It was easy to forget amid the serious incidents they faced each time they entered the tower, but this was still the lower floors, no matter how you looked at it.
The quest rooms starting from the 23rd floor had been unusually bizarre; normally, plain rooms without even simple tricks were the standard.
"The difficulty still doesn't feel standard, though."
"Even if no elites show up in rooms now, it wouldn't surprise me."
Rooms 31, 32, and 33.
Each monster possessed strength unfit for the lower floors and lunged at the party, but Rebellion—now comprised of members each at the top of their grade in combat prowess—broke through without issue.
Absorbing Life 0.1, Body 0.1, Magic Beast 0.08, Shell 0.05.
Magic Beast and Shell are concepts humans cannot possess.
As if proving the difficulty wasn't high, the depth of the concepts Ban Yu-won gained wasn't impressive either.
Even after four hours conquering three rooms, his Life had only grown from 582—its depth before entering the tower—to 584.
"Ah, this is that thing. Like when you're farming a low-level dungeon, then hit an event dungeon mid-way that dumps exp and items, and when you return to your hunting ground, the exp efficiency feels ruined."
"I don't get that stuff, so just fight."
At this rate, could they really break through Life 600 this expedition?
Life 600 held special meaning for Ban Yu-won.
It was the 'apparent' Life value of Aneri Dedota, the dimensional mercenary he'd met in Gellas.
Of course, he now knew that wasn't her true power.
She had concealed her presence and actual abilities through some method, and his All-Reading Eyes— which should have pierced through it—had only skimmed the surface due to their brief contact.
'Let's assume Life 600 is the starting line.'
Ban Yu-won judged it the minimum baseline for operating as a capable individual anywhere without shame.
In fact, all Rebellion members had Life near 600 (Lucelle, Light) or far exceeding it (Dokgo Yeon) at enrollment.
'Unlike me, who had just awakened my powers, these guys entered with strength overwhelming even higher dimension elites. Of course, they've grown much stronger since through learning techniques and tower exploration...'
Still, catching up to the Rebellion members' enrollment levels held great significance for Ban Yu-won.
—Kwaaaargh!
"So let's clear these weaklings quick, real quick...!"
Ban Yu-won muttered as he faced the elite monster—a bear-like shelled beast with stag beetle horns and carapace on its head roaring—and kicked off the ground toward it.
"Hup."
The shelled beast charged with horns extended.
Aiming for its head, Ban Yu-won charged back, manifesting the essence of Flow. He extended one hand to deflect the horn sideways, then lightly vaulted using that hand on its head, landing on its back.
—Kruk?!
Most monsters exposed massive openings when reacting reflexively.
For instance, right now, startled by the hunter on its back, it twisted its body with excessive force—
Ban Yu-won used that momentum against it, smoothly thrusting his sword infused with the essence of Reversal.
By now, golden letters reading [Pierce] shone clearly above the blade he gripped.
—Kachak!
Spuurt—like a sword sliding into its sheath, the Executioner's Longsword pierced the shelled beast's neck effortlessly.
An elite from a room of off-kilter difficulty, felled in one strike!
Its neck was a vital spot leading to instant death when pierced, yet sealed by impenetrable shell.
But Ban Yu-won combined essences of Reversal and Pierce while enchanting his sword with prepared Penetration language magic, ending it without resistance.
Absorbing Life 0.7, Body 0.5, Magic Beast 0.3, Shell 1.
Magic Beast and Shell are concepts humans cannot possess.
This was the first stage of language magic in close combat he'd perfected after much deliberation: attack augmentation.
—Your language magic is basically all-purpose, so just buffing yourself and your weapon appropriately boosts your power by a whole level... It's much weaker than regular magic, though!
Ceron, who had grumbled about Ban Yu-won's close combat ever since he wielded the previous staff for Gandalf Attack, spoke in a still somewhat sullen voice.
Ban Yu-won chuckled and retorted mentally.
'But it has the advantage of low mana cost and high efficiency. And quick application.'
For example, manifesting plain [Penetration] language magic alone depends purely on the mana infused in it to penetrate the target.
But with a sword as medium—especially thrusting full-force toward the target—the required mana drops dramatically.
—You're still far off. Mages can just lob spells from afar even if slow, but if you're doing close quarters, you need to manifest language magic in timings split to a hundredth of a second, then split again.
'Just say 1/100th of a second.'
Ban Yu-won knew his movement and manifestation timing weren't perfectly synced yet.
Still, compared to over 3 seconds to even draw and manifest a single word when he first learned it, this was much improved, he self-assessed.
'It's magic based on magic language, but no need to draw it externally. Complete it internally and manifest directly on target at the desired timing. This is sufficient for now.'
With more familiarity, he'd apply it to blocking attacks, countering, dodging, charging, leaping, attacking—every moment.
Language magic manifested through his body, weapon, and artifacts would make him more complete and powerful!
"That was awesome, Yu-won!"
"Lucelle, it finally looks like it's taking shape, right?"
Lucelle, having handled her own elite, rushed over, eyes sparkling as she clapped at Ban Yu-won's strike.
"Your pure attack power is catching up to us...! Not just skill, but raw strength too!"
Lucelle had apparently been thinking the same as Ban Yu-won earlier.
Ban Yu-won nodded proudly at her genuine joy, when Dokgo Yeon and Light, finishing their elite from the opposite side, approached chatting casually.
"What's up?"
"Light's movements were noticeably lighter today. I was in the middle of praising him."
"Didn't you just say earlier you thought he drew his holy sword while you weren't looking...?"
Light, who had been deeply悩悩 about his path lately, seemed to have improved a lot in the past week too.
For reference, Light had known how to handle aura since enrollment.
His form resembled Ryu Cheol-myeong's more than Dokgo Yeon's—a crude aura 'compressed from whatever magic power available'—but he could reliably generate and wield it with swords or spears without issue.
Naturally, he was under Dokgo Yeon's control and couldn't use aura right now.
"But since he picked up the spear, his movements felt unnatural, like controlling a body that wasn't his. Today was different. Did you have some realization?"
"Ah, that... maybe."
Light replied awkwardly to Dokgo Yeon's question, glancing at Ban Yu-won's face for some reason.
Ban Yu-won tilted his head but decided not to pry; if he wanted to say something, he'd speak up on his own.
However, a concept in Light's body he couldn't read nagged at him slightly.
'I can now read Lucelle's internal concepts thoroughly... Guess I need to get closer with Light too.'
To solve the problem Light harbored, this wouldn't do.
He needed to know everything intimately to somehow deal with that damned necklace!
"So, the shift?"
"We cleared them all without even needing a break. Hidden elements maybe?"
The moment Dokgo Yeon said that, Ban Yu-won felt a chill down his neck.
"Remember that spell I told you never to memorize?"
"I have zero intention of listening to that nonsense."
Her resolute demeanor was captivating.
But separately, her spell hit rate was uncannily spot-on.
The next room was another chain room.